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Friday, 20 December 2013

I've always loved the Pantomime, I took part in many as a child and for me it is the start of Christmas. I was delighted to go along as a representative from Redshift Radio on Saturday evening for my 'Family Ramblings' show.

Peter Pan is a popular fairy tale, having a little boy has meant watching the Disney film and reading the book many times so I was looking forward to seeing it being adapted onto the stage. I can tell you, I wasn't disappointed, it was great family fun and we all had deep belly laughs children as well as adults.

George Knapper, a local lad played the lead role, Peter Pan and was convincing as the boy who never grows up. Seeing him fly was magical and the swordfight scenes were very professional. Luke particularly liked the fight scene as I'm sure most boys will. Adam Woodyatt who plays Ian Beale in Eastenders made a brilliant Captain Hook, not as evil as the usual panto 'baddy' but a loveable rogue. There were lots of references to Eastenders which was comical. The Grumbleweeds Slapstick comedy was hilarious, with some adult content but suitable for the children too. The rest of the cast were equally as stong, Tinkerbell in particular had a beautiful voice and I imagine had children and most males in the audience falling in love with her!

The dancers were very professional and the little 'Lost Boys' were children from local dance schools, all of whom were talented. The obligatory audience participation sing song is always a highlight for me and great for all members of the family. I have never sang that version of '12 days of Christmas' but it was the best song of the night, we sang it in the car on the way home.

The scenery, costumes and acting were all of a professional quality, I highly recommend anyone to go and watch it.

Monday, 10 June 2013

The one and only downfall to my job, and trust me I love my job, is that I don't get to spend as much time with my boys as I'd like. Mark is a fantastic daddy and without him Hullabaloo Kids wouldn't be possible. Luke loves his 'Daddy days' when I'm working but loves it even more when we manage to get a whole family day together.
So, on Sunday we planned a family day out, originally we had discussed going to Alton Towers but the forecast wasn't looking too terrific so we decided on a visit to Techniquest Glyndwr, near Wrexham.

Luke had been twice before but it was Mark's first visit. He had heard lots about it so was looking forward to seeing what it had to offer first hand.

We are a family of puzzle solvers so it's ideal for us, there are 3 rooms with different stations where you can get stuck in to work out puzzles and tasks. Our day was made more special by Luke volunteering to help with the experiments at the interactive show. He has never been one for audience participation and always reluctant to join in when other children are bursting at the seams with their hands up. We were so thrilled that he put his hand up to be chosen, he also answered some questions too. Each show we have seen are run very professionally and the staff are very knowledgeable and friendly too.

I can highly recommend Techniquest Glyndwr for a family day out, each time I have been there has been a different theme, it's very educational and interactive so if you have small toddlers don't worry they are allowed to touch whatever they like! One word of advice though, take your own food as there are no facilities to buy anything in the centre (only light refreshments) but there are plenty of places to sit down inside and out.

I bought a big bundle of build your own Lego cars, made a racing track with the help of my wonderful dad, made Lego chocolate and Lego jelly and Lego head cake pops and made a' face in the hole' Lego man. We hired out the Oakley Centre in Crewe.

The week before, I realised I hadn't thought about the cake so contacted Cakey Cakey and gave her the mammoth task of making a Lego cake. The result was phenomenal and I was so thrilled when I collected it. Luke's face was a picture when he saw his cake for the first time.

As parties go, there were no tears (well not many) and all the children enjoyed themselves. Luke was spoilt rotten and we need to build another extension to home all his new toys.

Monday, 15 April 2013

I ran my first Zumbatomic holiday club in collaboration with Sports Coaching North West last week. I was expecting less than 10 so was pleasantly surprised when I ended up with 16 in the class.

The ages ranged from 5 to 11 years, in Zumbatomic terms this should have been split into 2 age categories so I wondered how it would go but all the girls enjoyed it thoroughly and had a fantastic time.

Hope you all had a fantastic Easter break, I dropped a reluctant boy off at school this morning but after having 2 weeks off, who could blame him? I managed to have Good Friday and Easter Sunday off to be a mummy and a wife, it was bliss.

On Good Friday, we visited the Reaseheath Zoo for the first time, it was a great way to spend a couple of hours and there were more animals than we expected. My favourite had to be the meercats.

Easter Saturday, I entertained over 50 children at 3 parties, it was a challenge getting between each party but I managed it and the reward is always seeing the children's happy faces. I really do have the best job in the world, I mean, who else manages to do the Gangnam Style 3 times a day in public?!

Nantwich is host to the Jazz and Blues Festival over the Easter Weekend, it is more a 'Drinkfest' for visitors to the town now (I'm showing my age), you would avoid town with small children due to the amount of drunks but on Easter Monday, The Residence Bar and Grill held a Family Fun Day with a bouncy castle, supplied by Letts Bounce, Hair and nail art, character appearances and of course facepainting. It was a busy affair and people had waited for an hour for their children's faces to be painted.

Being a presenter on 'Toddler Talk' I get to find out what activities are on offer in the area for children during the school holidays. Luke and his friends enjoyed activities at Nantwich Museum, Lego Club at Crewe Library and the Family Movie Event held at Malbank School. No wonder he didn't want to go back to school today!

Wednesday, 3 April 2013

(Me with my famous guest, he is actually a lot taller but had to crouch down for me)

I'm not one to drop names or anything....honest, but I had a very special guest last week...... it was only blimmin' Steve Leonard, Celebrity Vet off of the telly! (Google if you don't know him)

Ever since I heard his brother, Tom on Redshift Radio last year, I have been thinking of ways to get either Tom or Steve onto my show, so when I found out it was National Puppy Week, I thought it was a perfect opportunity to get in touch with the practice in Wistaston and invite them onto the show. I was absolutely beside myself when they told me Steve was coming along.

If you know me, you know how enthusiastic I am about babies and children, but I am also dog mad too. I love my dog like a member of the family and can give good advice about raising a child with a dog.

It was difficult to cram all the questions into my one hour show but we managed it and Steve was a fabulous guest, very down to earth and I would have loved to have spoken to him for longer and about his tv work. There's always National Puppy Week 2014!

Monday, 18 March 2013

When I heard of a new business starting up in South Cheshire called 'Kool 2 Play' I had to know more about it and wanted to share with my listeners on' Toddler Talk' too.

It's always tricky to decide what to do for your child's birthday parties, whether to hire a play barn and get them to do the hard work ie/ catering, entertaining the children and providing party bags, or hire a hall, do your own food and arrange some entertainment yourself. Obviously, budget comes into it too and limit on numbers, there are many many things to consider when arranging your child's party. I know! I'm a party entertainer but my fussy child doesn't like facepainting or dancing!

Debra Sloan from Kool to Play came on Toddler Talk last week to tell us about her fabulous mobile soft play hire business. It's suitable for children from 0-4 and caters for all occasions:- weddings, birthday parties, christenings, toddler groups and garden parties. The equipments consists of soft play cubes, slides, shapes and ball pool. Themed packages are available for your little Thomas The Tank engine fans and Pink Princesses too.

'Listen again' will be added later this week so please return to the page to hear Debra on Redshift Radio.

Friday, 15 March 2013

At the end of February, I completed an instructors course for Zumba for children called 'ZumbAtomic', I thoroughly enjoyed the day and it was great to meet other Zumba Instructors. They all loved the idea that I was running a daytime Zumba class with creche class too! Good to throw some ideas around too.

ZumbAtomic is a high energy class with specially choreographed routines. It's aimed for 2 age groups 4-7 years (Little Starz) and 8-11 years (Big Starz)

Classes are now running at Shavington Leisure Centre on Tuesdays 6.30pm and 7.30pm.
Also, on Saturday 13th April, I will be starting a new class in Nantwich at Stapeley Community Centre at 10am.

Wednesday, 6 March 2013

I'm a week behind writing my blog posts but better late than ever, I say!

It was Acupuncture Awareness Week last week, so on Toddler Talk we raised awareness by having Katy Hollinshead, an acupuncturist on the show to talk about how it works as a complimentary therapy, and the other treatments she uses. Katy is based at the Navitas Centre, Shavington and also has her own practise in Sandbach.

Alongside Katy, I also invited Rebecca Sutton from Rebecca Sutton Hypnotherapy to share her knowledge of hypnotherapy and the benefits.

I am a big believer in complimentary therapies, and last year I completed Reiki Level 1 with Simon and Katie Bailey from the Navitas centre, this enables me to treat friends and family so if you're on my 'friends' list you may be eligible for a treatment!

To listen again to the interview please click on the link below which is sponsored by Cheshire Stair Design.Acupunture Toddler talk

Next week, I have Debra Sloan as my guest sharing news of her new business 'Kool 2 Play' mobile soft play provider. Be sure to tune in!

Saturday, 2 March 2013

As a mummy, one of the hardest things is to give your child the best upbringing, teaching them right from wrong and having a healthy lifestyle plus much much more.

In my opinion, I gave Luke the best start in life by breastfeeding him until he was 15 months, he was introduced to solid food at 6 months and we made everything for him, I used organic products even though we never bought them for ourselves. I can honestly say hand on heart Luke only ever had 2 or 3 jars. I am not condemning jars, they are convenient if you're out and about but for me, personally, I wanted to puree my own food and know every ingredient going into his food.

By the time he was a toddler, he had an amazing appetite and ate everything in sight, he was a pleasure to take to restaurants as he enjoyed his food so much. He even eats olives, I know many adults don't even eat them!

However, it all changed when he started school last year, obviously I'm not blaming school and I know his tastes will have changed and peer pressure from his school friends, but he came home the first week saying he didn't like peas and other vegetables that he had always eaten. He had never said he disliked a food so it took us by surprise.

One day while I was surfing the net, I came across a post by Jo Dodsley mentioning her company 'The Birth of Taste'. She offers tips and advice and recipe ideas to give children a balanced and healthy diet, she also offers techniques and strategies to help with food challenges. I knew I had to get in touch with Jo to invite her onto Toddler Talk, I had to find out how to overcome these challenges with Luke and share with listeners who are also going through the same.

She gave lots of advice about how to win the food fight and we had a great rapport on air. You can listen to the interview by clicking on the link below. I'm sure all parents will find her tips and pointers useful.

Sunday, 17 February 2013

Kids Birthday parties are my thing, its what I do. I organise them, entertain at them and the biggest satisfaction is making the children happy, Happy Children equals Happy Parents......Fact!

Luke is invited to many parties and you may be surprised to hear that he doesn't enjoy facepainting, singing and dancing or sporty parties, I know what you're thinking, how can he be my child? There is nothing worse (as a parent) than having a shy child who won't join in with party activities especially when you're a party entertainer! So when Luke was invited to a party last year organised by 'Sports Coaching North West' I was dreading the same thing happening again. However, it was a Cube and Angry Birds party which made all the difference, I'm pretty sure most children know who Angry Birds are and The Cube is a very popular TV show too, Luke is a big fan of both so it was a win/win situation! He thoroughly enjoyed the party and the activities which meant one very happy Mummy!

Since meeting Chris and Ross in June last year I have been badgering them to come on 'Toddler Talk' to talk about what they do. They eventually gave in and came on to tell us, not only about parties but about what they offer in the way of Sports coaching within schools and during school holidays. If you have sporty children you can also enter them into the Triathlons that have been organised by the dynamic duo.

Our theme for the show was 'What is your child's favourite sport?', there was lots of interaction and Chris gave us some advice about how to deal with children who are shy. He also shared his favourite sport when he was a child.

Saturday, 19 January 2013

Last year I made a Gingerbread house from scratch, it was pretty stressful especially as I am a disaster when it comes to baking. Mark asked when I would be making it as he would make sure he was out!

The days leading up to Christmas were mega busy but on the 23rd December, I decided to start on this years project. I was surprisingly calm making it, even when one of the pieces nearly cracked when lifting off the oven tray. However, I managed to get it glued together and stable for Christmas Eve when Luke was able to help with decorating it. We were totally impressed with our efforts and it was much more satisfaction than a shop bought one!

Since starting Hullabaloo Kids in 2008, I have added an extra string to my bow each year. This year was no exception. After getting inspiration from an old friend from Jersey I decided to qualify as a Zumba Fitness instructor the first week in January.

If you have been to a Zumba class you know how fun and exhilirating it is, if you haven't what are you waiting for? Its a dance fitness programme inspired by Latin rhythms, you don't have to be an amazing dancer to join a class, all you need to do is know how to enjoy yourself.

I am aware there are many Zumba instructors in the area so I decided to come up with something a bit different and offer a Zumba Fitness class with a creche facility for childcare. Alison Bowett from Nantwich Childcare is running the creche which will be in a side room next to where the Zumba class will be held. I instantly thought of Alison as she childminded Luke before he started school and even had him to sleep over one night.

Alison quotes: 'It can be hard to exercise and have time to yourself when you have young children at home so this is the perfect chance for parents to have fun and get fit while their children play close by in a safe and secure environment'

We are starting our first class on Tuesday 5th February at 9.30am, it is ideal for anyone with school age children as they can do the school run and come straight to Zumba! The Zumba doesn't need to be pre-booked but the creche must be booked in advance through emailing alison@nantwichchildcare.co.uk

We are looking to expand to other areas and more classes so if you know of a suitable hall or would like to join a class please get in touch. You can email me on sharon@hullabalookids.net or call me 07973 479471.